India creates History

India finally created History by becoming the first cricket team to win the World cup at Home. So far no host country have won a world cup at home and India have scripted this famous win by trashing their neighbor opponent for a whooping 6 wickets win to clinch the title. This is the second time India is winning the WORLD CUP, previous one is the famous 1983 World cup win. Fans thronged into the streets and roads of India celebrating the Indian win and the entire country wore a party look.

People greeted each other and the cloud of joyful atmosphere surrounded the entire country. However, the 1983 World cup win holds a much higher significance since it helped India to emerge as a major cricket power house. The 2011 World cup Win by India also ended the Australian Domination of 3 consecutive World cup wins.

Cricket Mania in India

The cricket Mania in India has reached its pinnacle and people have simply gone crazy with this game. The on going world cup in India is creating a spell on Public with people just going behind cricket. It's now cricket cricket everywhere in the Indian Sub continent.

Indian subcontinent is the only place in the world where Cricket fans outnumber football fanatics by a comfortable margin and world cup is nothing sort of a festival to them. India is the powerhouse of cricket and it generates a staggering 70% of the total revenue for International Cricket Council.

As this edition of the worldcup is hosted in India, there is a huge expectation from the fans that India would lift the trophy this time and also this is a dream of the country's cricketing hero Sachin Tendulkar who is going to appear in a record 6th world cup appearance. The cricket mania is sure to sweep the people for next 1 month.

Valentine's day and Social Policing

The valentine's day in India is as usual marked with celebrations in some places and moral policing in some other areas and this story continues this year too. Hundred's of bars and pubs in the country were thrown open for the couples to party which extened even beyond midnight and in some areas, people calling themselves as Social police, tried to evacuate the couples who created nuisance in public under the name of Valentine's day celebration.

In cities like Mumbai and Bangalore almost all the pubs were booked in advance and many corporate companies threw lavish party for the couples to enjoy that day. It happened in other cities too. However, many expressed their concerns over the eradication of the tradition and culture of Indian people who tend to follow the western world which is surely a sight to worry.

It is alright to celebrate valentine's day but there is a limit for everything. Just partying in discotheques and pubs doesnt justify the celebration. It can be celebrated in a more decent and dignified manner.

Mahatma Remembered again

The Martyr's day was observed peacefully by people all over the world to remark the assasination of Mahatma Gandhi who is being considered as 'The Father of Independent India'. Many Political Leaders paid homage at 'Raj Ghat' where Mahatma Gandhi's last rites were observed. Many followers all over the World observed Martyr's day.

Mahatma Gandhi was instrumental in getting freedom for India from the British Clutches and he adopted a powerful way of fight in the Form of Non-Violence and Mutual Disobedience to drive the Britishers away from the country. According to him, 'Non-Violence' or 'Ahimsa' is the strongest weapon and only a bold person can follow and preach Ahimsa. On Jan-30 1948, Mahatma Gandhi was assassinated and this day is being observed as 'The Martyr's day'

Cold Waves in North India claims 24 Lives

The series of cold waves in North India has completely crippled the normal life of people and it has been reported that around 24 are dead due to cold waves. The temperature in the Interior part of North India went as low as -7 degrees which is the lowest in the last 30 years. Several schools, colleges and offices have been shut down and it is expected that the cold waves may last for another 15 days which really is not a good news for the people living there.

Regional Meterological department officials say that due to global warming, the country is experiencing an Extreme weather condition for the last 2 years and also fears that this trend may continue for several years. They also warn that this time, the summer will be much severe. This is really a big cause of concern since the fluctuating weather conditions in extremes may affect the normal life to a great extent.

Indian Railways actual Revenue earning method

While everyone of us praise Indian railways and their ministers for not increasing the Train fares for more than 6 years and the railways made a huge profit under Lalu Prasad Yadav, it is noteworthy to look at the other side of the Railways. Does it really Holds good that Railways are making profit without increasing the ticket rates? I smell the otherwise situation here. In reality, after the advent of Indian Railways Online Passenger reservation system (IRCTC), money spent by the users are pretty higher than it actually goes and here I come up with a small calculation.

Journey Between Chennai and Bangalore in a Night train costs you Rs. 173 in Express and Rs. 193 in super fast trains (Sleeper coach). But do we end up paying just that amount if we book tickets through IRCTC? Let us look at the fact:

Ticket cost Rs.193 + IRCTC service charge Rs.10 + Creditcard/Bank service charge Rs.12 and overall = Rs. 215. We end up in paying 22Rs more and if we cancel a confirmed ticket Rs. 40 has to be shelled out from your pocket.

This is the regular reservation procedure and around 40% of the seats are reserved for Tatkal quota for which a traveler needs to pay Rs. 75 more in case of off season time and Rs.150 in case of season time. (Around 280 tickets are allocated for tatkal quota in Chennai-Bangalore Mail). So the tatkal charge in the train comes at a rate :
Rs.215 + 150 = Rs 365.

If a confirmed tatkal ticket is cancelled 24 Hours before the scheduled departure of the Train then the Refund is: Rs.0 (No refund). If cancelled between 24-63.5 Hours, then 25% of the amount excluding the Tatkal charge would be refunded. i.e., Rs.150 will be gone and 25% of Rs. 193 = Rs.48 would be refunded.

If you book a ticket for Rs.365, then the refund amount is Rs.48 in tatkal scheme. Even while cancelling Wait Listed tatkal tickets, Rs.20 will be deducted as Cancellation charge.

Another strategy is the Manipulation of Wait Listed tickets and allocation of seats in the name of RAC but claiming the full amount of sleeper class charge.

It is a regular trend in Chennai bangalore mail that the wait list up to WL120 will be getting cleared easily and after WL 15, most of it will be allocated into RAC's where 2 needs to share one Side Lower Berth. (Both the users would have paid the full amount for a sleeper class). This makes the railway get double profit.

The same case is applicable for AC 3 and 2 Tiers at a much higher rates. This is one of the best profit making strategies by the railways but they boast to be one of the passengers friendly Government to be quite benevolent to the people.

The last sensible and best minister of Railways was Shri Nitish Kumar and it helped LALU to utilize upon his favour when he took over the turn.

Julia Roberts and Hinduism

Recently, in an interview to Elle's Magazine, Julia Roberts has revealed that she is a practising Hindu and she is very much attracted towards Hinduism and its policies. She married Cameraman Daniel Moder in 2002. The 42 year old actress new film Eat,Pray, Love is all set to hit the Screens next month in AMERICA and the movie is based on some concepts of Hinduism. She also reveals that she and her husband goes to temple to chant, pray and Celebrate. Since Hinduism believes in reincarnation, when asked where her soul would be re incarnating in her next birth, she said that she really had no idea about it but she would prefer a quiet and supporting life in her next birth.